Unmanned Systems Technology 011 | C-Astral Bramor ppX | IMUs | Autonomous farming | UAV Turbines UTP50R | London Show report | Advanced materials | Las Vegas Expo report

66 a maximum cruising speed of 110 kph (40 kph minimum) and does not need ground control points as it uses RTK/PPK GNSS for survey-grade accuracy to 3 cm in mapping missions and navigation. Also, new eMotion 3 flight control software enables features such as support for multiple payloads, cloud connectivity and multi-flight missions to land autonomously for recharging before resuming a geospatial survey from the coordinates where the eBee Plus last left off. The craft also comes with a new default camera, the senseFly SODA (Sensor Optimised for Drone Applications). “It’s the first camera we’ve developed ourselves, other than adapting existing cameras. It’s a 1 in RGB sensor, global shutter, 20 MP camera designed for drone photogrammetry. We also have thermal and multispectral options for rescue, environmental or agriculturally focused requirements.” Sader explained. Xsens launched its newest navigation system, which is intended for use on UAVs and UGVs with considerable SWaP constraints. The MTi 1-series is an AHRS/IMU and vertical reference system measuring 12.1 x 12.1 by 2.5 mm that uses the company’s AttitudeEngine strapdown algorithm to perform inertial navigation calculations at 1 kHz, giving roll and pitch accurate to 1 º and yaw to 2 º . The system weighs 0.66 g and can communicate via I2C, SPI or UART ports. It is compatible with power inputs from 2.16 to 3.45 V, and consumes 44 mW at 3 V. “It is our smallest and lightest product. Multicopter drones and other robotic systems that lack the internal space or a very powerful battery required to support a larger navigation module need something to make up for the difference,” said Peter Verwer. Also available with the MTi 1-series is the company’s development kit for characterisation and prototyping, which uses simple RS-232 or mini-USB interfaces, as well as its MT software suite (which works on Linux or Windows) and software development kit with embedded software examples. Analog Devices Inc (ADI) showcased a number of new tactical- grade MEMS-based IMUs which are SWaP-optimised for use on unmanned vehicles, autonomous machines and robots. The ADIS16490, ADIS16495 and ADIS16497 generally give the same performance, but differ only in their gyroscopes’ and accelerometers’ dynamic ranges – running from 100 º /s and 8 g for the ADIS16490, 2000 º /s and 8 g for the ADIS16495, and 2000 º /s and 40 g for the ADIS16497. Sean D’Arcy explained the importance of noise reduction and vibration resistance of IMUs. “If not designed properly, any vibration, shock or gravitational tilt can cause drift or offset in the gyroscope. We have four quad resonators ‘on chip’, around which our sensor is designed and which work in conjunction with each other and as common pairs to reject all kinds of noise.” ADI’s new RF transceiver core and signal chain was also on show. “Most commercial UAVs operate over the 2.4 GHz band, but this wi-fi type link does not transmit over very long ranges,” said D’Arcy. “With our partner ZeroTech we’ve developed a solution that gives 4 km of comms range with high reliability. At the core is our proprietary protocol, which is more robust than wi-fi, and the radio front end gives higher performance than a wi-fi solution.” The radio technology’s transmission spectral emissions enable comms at greater output power, and improved receiving sensitivity and blocking performance, which allow operations in noisy environments through more thorough filtering capabilities. The company has also launched a new December/January 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology MTi 1-series from Xsens, its smallest and lightest navigation module The new 24 GHz MIMO radar from ADI, for collision avoidance or radio altimeter use